Take a stroll to discover the religious history intertwined with Ardmore trail

Embarking on the trail, you might reflect that monastic life as practiced centuries ago in Ardmore, with its emphasis on simplicity, mindfulness and humility, still has lessons to offer

Pass the Cliff House Hotel before embarking on a scenic path that meanders around a peninsula, with slopes dropping seaward.

If history consists of stories that later generations recount about the past, Ardmore is indeed a storyful place. Locally regarded as Ireland's earliest Christian site, it provided the seed corn for the mythologies that bonded Deise inhabitants in an area that many regard as the birthplace of Irish Christianity.

Begin your outing from the trailhead located on the waterside opposite the Catholic Church. Head southeast to the shoreline that bookends the strand, where a rock on the beach is reputed to have floated ashore. Legend has it that a golden bell from heaven appeared while Waterford-born St Declan was celebrating mass abroad. On his return journey, Declan, absentmindedly, left it behind when sailing from Wales and was distraught by the loss. He prayed, and a large floating stone carrying his bell appeared in the ocean alongside and began guiding his boat. Declan promised to build a monastery wherever the bell came ashore. The rock fetched up on Ardmore Beach, and true to his word, Waterford’s patron saint founded Ireland’s first monastery on the high ground above.